ES2199787T3 - LAWN IRON THAT INCLUDES AGRICULTURAL COMPONENTS, ESPECIALLY FOR FORMING LAWN, AND ASSOCIATED PRODUCTION PROCEDURE. - Google Patents

Abstract

A sod of cultivation soil, complete with lawn grass seeds, fertilizers, selective herbicide and a bonding agent for the cohesion of the various elements contained therein. The sod has the conventional geometric shapes of paving tiles and allows to cover continuously, i.e. without gaps, the soil to be revegetated. A method for producing the sod makes it possible to store it and subsequent reuse it while obtaining optimum and rapid growth, of lawns, grassy layers, flowers and the like.

Description

Lawn plate comprising components agricultural, especially to form lawns, and procedure of associated production

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to production of a modular grass plate of cultivation soil comprising all the components and ingredients required for the preservation, subsequent placement, germination and growth of grassy species, such as herbs, for formation of lawns and grassy layers or for the growth of other plants, said grass plate being particularly useful in professional and leisure gardening.

Background of the invention

Traditionally, lawns and covered layers of grass for non-agricultural use are usually formed by following stages

First, a subfloor is prepared by cleaning the area of rocks, debris, waste, shrubs and bad herbs, tilling the soil from a minimum of 15 cm to a maximum 150 cm deep, making a fertilization careful with organic fertilizers and phosphate fertilizers and potassium, and providing drainage systems that use sand, gravel and optionally deeply buried pipes, leveling and compacting the entire surface.

This subsoil preparation is common for all lawns, although there are variations that are expected depending on that is an ornamental lawn or a sports field.

Two procedures, the sowing and the coating with grass plates are currently used to cover the soil thus prepared with a layer of grass. Laying with grass plates consists of the placement of grass plates previously cultivated elsewhere, while with planting the grass grows completely in situ .

These two sowing procedures and siding with lawn plates necessarily suppose a particular care

Sowing should be carried out only in certain periods of the year at adequate temperatures. In latitudes of northern Italy, for example, sowing is carried held between mid-March and mid-October. To have a wetter soil and avoid the presence of weed rhizomes, sowing is preferably carried out between the end of Summer and early fall.

The sowing must be carried out by means of seed spread evenly over the surface and with a correct surface density, and thus is almost always it is necessary to use seeder machines or an expert seeder when sowing is done manually, as is usually the Case for small areas.

After distributing the seeds, said seeds should be covered with a thin layer of soil and peat and the soil is compacted to ensure the adhesion of the seed to the I usually. These operations must be performed unless the sowing is done by choosing a mixture of seeds, a binding agent and sawdust, eg in slopes.

Consequently, erosion of the upper layer Soil may happen due to rain and infestation caused by weed seeds.

After sowing, the soil must be watered regularly for several months.

Laying with lawn plates is a faster revegetation procedure with less invasion of weeds and without surface erosion or sinking of the soil in case of rain. However, the varieties of herbs appropriate for the coating process with plates Lawn are limited. In addition, it is necessary to have large areas available and appropriate procedures must be followed to grow the grass on the plates.

Lawn plates covered with grass, which they are generally 4 or 5 mm thick, uprooted, optionally rolled, transported and placed on the ground final, and all this must happen in no more than a day and a half, not be that the seeds are climate controlled.

Before placing the seeds, you must ensure that the soil is soft, moist and rich in organic substances. After placement, a gentle compaction is performed to ensure adequate contact with the ground, and any space between grass plates it is filled with sand and peat. Irrigation regular in the weeks following the placement is also important.

WO 98/56232 of the prior art describes a seed germination procedure of a plant as claimed in the preambles of claims 1 and two.

Description of the invention

The main objective of the present invention is provide a lawn iron to form lawns or others crops, which can be stored for a long time in environmental conditions without problems, so that it can be Produced year-round without interruption.

Another objective of the present invention is provide a procedure to produce grass irons and to provide lawns, which is extremely simple to carry out.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, procedures are provided for the preparation of a cultivation of a plant, in particular a lawn, as defined in claims 1 and 2.

Advantageously, after drying the iron turf can be packaged in a packing material for storage and transport purposes.

In accordance with another aspect of this invention, a grass plate is provided for the cultivation of plants as described in claim 14, comprising a seedbed sown that has already received an aggregation of fertilizer and an appropriate binding agent to maintain the parallelepipedic form given to it.

Brief description of the drawings

Other features and advantages of the invention they will become more evident from the detailed description of non-exclusive embodiments thereof, illustrated only by means of non-limiting examples in the attached drawings, in the  which:

Figures 1 and 2 show a schematic view of the procedure for obtaining lawn irons according to the invention, and

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view from a warehouse where the grass plates obtained according with the invention they are preserved.

Ways to carry out the invention Example 1

A lawn has been provided in an area protected from a home garden and parts of this area have been decorated with weed pearls - see figure 1 of the drawings.

To provide a grassy layer, a mixer 1 has been used first to mix the following components to obtain a granulated mixture:

- 80-90% by volume of sand inert siliceous

- 10-20% by volume of peat

- potato starch as a binding agent natural

The mixture has been dispensed in a hopper 2 and from there it has been deposited on a conveyor belt 3 to form an uninterrupted layer of 1.5 to 8 cm.

Also along the path the machine seeder 4 has deposited on the layer, carried by the Conveyor belt 3, the seed mixture of the following species:

- 15% Agrostis tennis

- 30% Sheep Festuca

- 15% Festuca rubra commutata

- 20% Poa nemoralis

- 20% Poa pratensis

Inside the mixer 5, instead, a very rich fertilizer mixture that also contains herbicide has been prepared according to the following components: sand inert siliceous, peat, fertilizer that provides a low release of nitrogenous substances, with phosphate and potassium, dichotyledonous selective herbicide, potato starch as natural binding agent.

The preparation has been fed to the hopper 6 arranged below, from which it has been dispensed on the conveyor belt so that it forms a layer of 1/2 cm of soil which covers the seeds deposited at the beginning.

Through a press 7, the stratified mixture has been punched or extruded through an extruder die to form tiles, for example in hexagonal form, measuring approximately 1.5 to 8 cm thick.

Instead of extruding the tiles at the end, it is possible to deposit successive layers in appropriate molds in order inverse with respect to that of the previous description. Mix can be deposited by vibrations applied to the mold and left at rest for a short time, so that the agent binder begin to bind. Finally reversing the molds, the seeds, the fertilizer and the herbicide are arranged directly under the surface of the tile.

The seeds have been located near the surface since this is its natural level, from which, after of humidification, at the appropriate station and at a temperature adequate, the outbreak will emerge soon. The herbicide is useful only if placed near the surface to prevent germination of weed seeds carried by the wind or others bearers A chemical fertilizer has also been placed in a higher level to be close to the seeds, because due to the irrigation tends to seep down where there are no roots because They have not yet been formed.

The chemical fertilizer is the first substance nutritional that provides sprouts minerals, even because these outbreaks cannot be formed immediately, and the microorganisms and bacteria responsible for the breakdown of any organic matter may not be available immediately or appear fully active.

To continuously cover the surface a revegetar, it is possible in particular to use grass plates that have geometric shapes that are commonly used to floor tiles, that is polygonal shapes, such as regular squares, rectangles and hexagons, octagons and triangles Among these, however, preference is given to square and rectangular for packing and storage reasons. The hexagon has the advantage of having obtuse angles and therefore somehow less brittle corners.

Potato starch has been used as an agent binder in this example, but as an alternative it is generally possible to use binder agents obtained from plants (starches, starches, flours, cellulose derivatives) or tissues  animals (fish tail, bone tail, skin tail), Only if they are biodegradable. Preferably not used binding agents based on synthetic polymers.

The binding agent and other substances colloidal, such as humus and clay, originate the structure end of the resulting grass plate to be an aggregate of glomeruli, so adequate soil porosity is obtained by last. Porosity involves micropores within glomeruli, which are useful for future water absorption, and micropores between the glomeruli, which are useful for circulation of air that is also very important for the roots. Porosity of the grass plate can also help in vacuuming, by Capillarity action of water from the subsoil in case of accidental lack of irrigation.

The tiles formed, carried by the tape conveyor 3 or by the second conveyor belt (no represented in the drawings), are deposited in a warehouse 10 provided with openings to ensure ventilation, where starch  is placed, so that an adequate loss of moisture before packing. Instead of a greenhouse, it is possible use any low temperature heat source or any Another dehumidification system. The same can be done of beforehand with the different materials before being mixed, although there is a high risk for them to be infested by weed seeds and spores and therefore it is convenient use dry materials that are packaged if possible properly. It is important that the components of the mixture and in Particularly the binder does not release too much moisture to the seeds in the stages prior to dehumidification.

The tiles have been packaged afterwards. Vacuum with waterproof and stored films.

After several months, they have been transported to the place of placement, where a subfloor has been prepared on which simply consists of 5 to 25 cm of average growth over a main layer of gravel with good permeability. The subsoil must of course have a surface that is willing to according to a final contour to reach and must then be prepared to form the desired flat areas, elevations and depressions

The tiles have been laid at the end of March and irrigated with 5 liters of water per square meter every day in the early hours of the morning until the grass emerged. Subsequently, irrigation has been less frequent but more abundant, thus maintaining the average amount of water supplied. Once the tiles have been removed from the packaging, placed on the soil and moistened, the natural physical and biochemical phenomena of Ground have been activated. The slow release fertilizer has started to release its mineral salts dissolving in water. Bacterial species that are part of the transformations of the nitrogen cycle have begun to form and becoming active. In addition to other types of bacteria, many microorganisms such as algae, actinomycetes, protozoa have also been formed, not to mention the majority of higher species. Everybody these living beings contribute to the formation of humus and mineral substances, the decomposition of organic matter and the binding agent, particle aggregation and removal of I usually.

If required, obtain lawn sprouts quickly, waterproof packaging can be punched and moisten the tiles even before being transported and placed, to activate its biochemical activity immediately.

The tiles have relatively dimensions precise geometric so that no space is between them during placement. However, if the placement is done in a hurry or there are sudden level variations (step elevations and depressions), and the spaces are delimited between tiles, the spaces can be filled with sand. This is useful, even because it is advisable to place it in gardens perform more or less dense microsegregations in the soil and fill the resulting holes with sand or sand mixed with peat. This operation, which is commonly performed in greens of golf or on sports fields, it is known as aeration followed by clogging and is designed to eliminate compaction of the  soil, to increase the percentage of macropores, to help the root growth, and to improve activity Microbiological and water permeability.

It has been found to be easy and creative form flower beds that include flower patterns of all kinds of colors alternating the tiles that form the grass plates described above with others containing seeds of "impatiens", which grow strongly in protected areas and are appropriate to form boundaries and plots. These tiles have been produced with the procedure described above and They comprised the following composition:

- soil composed of 1/3 sand, 1/3 clay and mud, 1/3 of peat and corrections obtained from biocompostation;

- fertilizer consisting of extract of algae:

- fish tail as binding agent natural;

- selective monocot herbicide;

- Impatiens Walleriana perennial seeds ("impatiens").

The tiles can be colored in the surface with a harmless dye that makes it possible to distinguish them according to their type and visualize them better during placement, when The patterns have to be formed.

The tiles in the limits of the lawn or in the flowerbeds limits should be cut, if necessary, to get the right size and follow the limit, especially in the case of lawns with curvilinear sides.

Example 2

Reference should be made to figure 2 for this example.

A sports field according to DIN regulations has been provided forming the total culture medium by means of transportable blocks. Only the drainage system and, before it, a 10-15 cm layer of fine gravel have been prepared in situ .

The blocks have been produced again by a conveyor belt on which some hoppers have unloaded its content in successive positions.

Hopper 2 contained a mixture of dry sands, dry mixed in advance using a mixer 1, for produce a soil that comprises the following gradation:

- maximum content of particles that have a 0.02 mm diameter: 10% by weight;

- maximum content of particles that have a 0.06 mm diameter: 18% by weight;

- maximum content of granules that have a 4 mm diameter: 15% by weight;

- maximum diameter of granules contained: 8 mm

Hopper 2 has dispensed a 2 cm layer of this floor on the conveyor belt 3.

Immediately afterwards, a seeder machine 4 has planted at an appropriate depth the following mixture of seeds:

- 50-60% of 2 varieties Different from perennial Lolium:

- The remaining 50-40% of 3 different varieties of Poa pratensis .

This has been followed by a hopper 5 that has deposited a chemical fertilizer and, in a lower position, a hopper 6 that has deposited a selective herbicide.

The layer thus obtained has then been divided into two parallelepiped shaped blocks using a die cutter 7.

The blocks have then been submerged in a tank 8, which contained a natural binding agent that has adhered, forming a layer over the entire surface outside, and on the other hand has covered and protected the block, the which otherwise would have been more brittle. The same compaction can be achieved by spraying an agent binder on grass plates inside a chamber adequate.

The block covered by the agent set binder, if kept dry, was preserved for a long time time without using waterproof enclosures, while once been placed and regularly watered the natural binding agent is It has dissolved and degraded quickly, leaving the block free.

By placing the blocks on the gravel layer prepared in situ and watering them systematically, the sports greens develop normally.

The behavior of grass plates illustrated in the previous examples is simply to carry carry out natural physical and biochemical activities of the soil, already mentioned above in connection with the processes of production.

The invention is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of them being considered within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Thus, for example, the invention may not be used. just to generate a lawn or a layer covered with herbs, but which also for borders with flowers used on the sides of ornamental lawns or pillows, bunches and waterfalls of flowers in flower beds The invention is particularly suitable for flowers. perennials that reproduce easily by seeds.

The invention can also be applied to edible species, such as many vegetables, that are They reproduce well from seeds stored dry.

Almost all vegetables, even bulky ones (for example pumpkins and eggplants) can develop well in a few centimeters thick. It should also be considered that some aromatic plants (such as basil and parsley) are not used in large quantities and require a space very small and an extremely small amount of soil. The invention is therefore very convenient for anyone who wishes make, for example, a hanging garden.

The invention can also be used with plants small, such as the sub-Thallophyta and for the cultivation of mushrooms.

The invention is applicable to all kinds of reproduction in the kingdom of plants: that is, reproduction sexual, asexual reproduction and vegetative reproduction.

A number of definitions herein are given hereafter for a correct interpretation of The claims:

Seed

The term designates the reproductive germs of cornophyte pharylogamous plants, but here it is used with a necessarily broader meaning, extending it to all the kingdom of plants, and is made to indicate these parts of the  plants that are designed for germination, whether derived from dynamic, dynamic or vegetative reproduction. These parts can by both consist of seeds, spores, rhizomes, bulbs and bulbs, gems, tubers or parts of them, fragments of branches or from other parts of the plant.

Sowing bed

A material, usually a fertile soil, in the which are possible the germination of plants and the development of their underground parts.

Texture or gradation

The percentage ratio between the different solid soil particles, classified according to their dimensions. The classified parts of the soil are constituted by the skeleton and fine earth, which, instead, comprises sand thick, fine sand, mud and clay.

Structure and porosity

The concept given in memory is repeated by reasons of clarity: colloidal substances such as humus and clay cause the fertile soil structure to become an aggregation of glomeruli instead of a compact mixture of components, so that an adequate porosity is obtained which is Useful for plant growth. Such porosity is due to micropores, which are inside the glomeruli and are useful for water absorption, and macropores among glomeruli that are useful for air circulation, which is A very important factor for the roots. The porosity of Lawn irons can also help in vacuuming, per action of capillarity, of the subsoil water if the watering is insufficient.

Organic substance

A substance comprises plant residues or animals in a greater or less advanced state of decomposition. The substance may already be partially transformed by organisms and microorganisms of the housing floor in substances inorganic elementals and humus.

Claims (20)

1. Procedure for the preparation of a cultivation of a plant, in particular a lawn, comprising following operating stages: - preparation of a sowing bed and introduction of seeds inside; - division of the sowing bed into plates of grass; - cohesion treatment, so that the resulting grass plate is not brittle, which makes it possible maintain a geometric shape and allows proper handling until that the placement stage has been completed; - non-destructive drying of the iron grass; - placement of the grass plate and humidification of the grass plate before or after placement and after regular watering, characterized by the fact that said cohesion treatment is carried out by placing a layer of adhesive on the whole of the outer surface of said grass plate. 2. Procedure for the preparation of a cultivation of a plant, in particular a lawn, comprising following operating stages: - preparation of a sowing bed and introduction of seeds inside; - division of the sowing bed into plates of grass; - cohesion treatment, so that the resulting grass plate is not brittle, which makes it possible maintain a geometric shape and allows proper handling until that the placement stage has been completed; - non-destructive drying of the iron grass; - placement of the grass plate and humidification of the grass plate before or after placement and after regular watering, characterized by the fact that said cohesion treatment is carried out by aggregating a binding agent during mixing. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that after drying, the grass plate is packaged in a suitable packaging for preservation, stored and transported, preferably under vacuum. 4. Method according to claims 1, 2 and 3, characterized in that said preparation of a seed bed comprises the dosing of the components and the mixing thereof. 5. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said preparation of a seed bed is obtained by successive deposition of layers of different components. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said division in grass plates is produced by molding the mixture in a template, a matrix or by extrusion in the chosen form of the grass plate. 7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said division into grass plates is produced by die cutting. 8. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said seed insertion is produced by implantation with a seeder machine. 9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said introduction of seeds is produced by deposition of a layer of seeds. 10. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said non-destructive drying reduces the percentage of moisture in the seedbed to the point where the germination of the seeds is no longer possible and tends to preserve the possibility of a future rapid resuscitation of the activity of microorganisms without the degradation of the organic chemical and natural substances present in the planting bed. 11. Method according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said drying is carried out by exposure in a ventilated greenhouse. 12. Method according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said drying is provided by low temperature heat sources and by air renewal. 13. A grass plate for growing plants, obtained with the procedure according to any of the previous claims, comprising a seeding bed seed that includes a fertilizer and is covered or at least held together by an organic binding agent to keep your shape 14. Grass plate according to claim 13, characterized in that said binding agent is biodegradable. 15. Lawn plate according to claim 13, characterized in that said binding agent comprises at least one colloidal substance. 16. Lawn plate according to claim 15, characterized in that said binding agent comprises glue of vegetable or animal origin. 17. Lawn iron according to any of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that said planting bed comprises a soil that includes mineral substances and at least one organic substance. 18. Lawn plate according to claim 17, characterized in that said organic substance comprises one or more fertilizers. 19. Lawn plate according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that it comprises one or more selective herbicides that hinder the germination and growth of plants that are different from, and antagonists of, those whose growth is sought. 20. Lawn plate according to any of the preceding claims 13 to 19, characterized in that it has a geometric shape that makes it possible to continuously cover the surface to be revered.